Breakdown of Scrivo alla nonna: un abbraccio!
un
a / an (masculine)
la nonna
the grandmother
scrivere
to write
alla
to the / at the (feminine singular)
l'abbraccio
the hug, the embrace (m)
Questions & Answers about Scrivo alla nonna: un abbraccio!
Why does the English translation say "my grandmother" when the Italian just says alla nonna?
In Italian, when it is obvious from the context whose family member you are talking about, you often just use the definite article instead of a possessive word like mia (my). Since you are the one writing the letter, alla nonna (literally "to the grandmother") is naturally understood as "to my grandmother."
What exactly is the word alla made of?
Alla is a combined word made from the preposition a (to) and the feminine definite article la (the). Because nonna is a feminine noun, it uses la, and when you put a and la together, they merge into alla.
Why is the pronoun io (I) missing before scrivo?
In Italian, the ending of the verb tells you who is doing the action. The -o ending on scrivo already means "I write." You only need to add the subject pronoun io if you want to put special emphasis on the fact that you are the one writing.
The English translation says "a big hug!", but where is the Italian word for "big"?
There isn't one! Literally, un abbraccio simply means "a hug." However, Italians use this phrase very frequently as a warm sign-off at the end of messages, emails, or letters. To capture that same enthusiastic and friendly feeling in English, it is often translated as "a big hug!" or "lots of love!".
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